1. Art and Diseño

2012
Nebraska Knoll
Sugar Farm Blog
February 16: Sugarers, Tap Your Trees!
“SUGARERS, TAP YOUR TREES,” exhorted local weatherman Roger Hill on this morning’s WDEV
broadcast. This year I will write no prologue; we are getting right to it up in the woods and this blog will
get right to it also.
FRONT-LOADED or BACK-LOADED? Phew, what a mild winter. In many regions of Vermont it has
been an “open winter” as well, meaning no snow. In our neck of the woods there is enough snow to
reflect light, old snow rendered into cement by recurring cycles of freeze and thaw. I have never heard so
much buzz about back-loaded winters, in which the snow and cold descend in late February, March and
April, nor about front-loaded sugar seasons. We cannot have both.
The latter seems more probable, but, as Roger Hill says, “Look the
other way, and KABOOM.”
ALL I MEAN TO SAY IS, today is only February 16th; yesterday
was a mild 40 degrees, today was 40 degrees, tomorrow it may
snow; we are half-tapped, and we have no control over when the
sap will run. It is not running hard yet.
TAPPING STATUS: Today was Day Four. Lew and the crew of
three vigorous young men have tapped all the lower trees, cruising
on snowshoes over the firm snowpack.
MACRO: The brook, filmed over with translucent ice in between
snow bridges.
MICRO: Black blobs of water slithering under the ice film, flowing
in and out of each other, like a fluid map of the world in which
dark continents roam, collide and reconfigure in an elastic gray ocean.
February 17: Snow tales
WEATHER: Above freezing all night, a sunny 40 degree morning,
cloudy and cooler this afternoon. Drizzly sap run. A tapper who
snuck off to ski reports fresh powder above 2000′, fused with the
crust for superb woods skiing.
TAPPING, DAY FIVE: The crew tapped out Herbie today, a high
section on the far side of our brook with many new taps this year.
Total taps in to date: 6700. What is left? 3100.
Early afternoon on Morningside
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Wild Turkey Tracks
Beech nut hulls at base of tree hollow
TURKEYS have scraped away at the snow in the thin places, notably along the south bank of the logging
roads, scavenging for roots, seeds and nuts. They enjoy beech nuts, but the beech nuts in the photo below
were stored and later feasted on by red squirrels.
A fisher cat?
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February 18: A Fine Tapping Day
WEATHER: Just enough snow overnight to soften the
world. Around 30 degrees warming to 35 degrees midday, the sharp wind abating as skies cleared.
VOCAB ENRICHMENT: SKIFF OF SNOW. In this Year-ofLittle-Snow, a skiff of snow is just that, a little snow. One
might say, “It snowed just a skiff; it is decidedly not
plowable snow.”
TAPPING STATUS: Six of us tramped up to Keystone, the
broad flank of state land we are tapping for the third year
Drilling a fresh taphole
now. The hummocky snow pack broke erratically under our
snowshoes into jagged snow floes. Walking downhill, we learned to keep our weight back on our heels to
prevent tripping over the tips of our snowshoes when they got hung up on the broken snow.
Collectively, we drilled over 2300 tapholes, one at a time, checking each tree for vitality and then taking
care to drill the new hole away from the old, partially-healed holes.
HOW’S IT RUNNING? Well, in the afternoon sunshine the sap did indeed run! As we tapped, the sap
droplets tumbled down the tree trunk; I licked it up and some bark too. Which is better, one drop of sap
straight from the tree, or a full glass of sap from the holding tank?
MACRO: Snowball snow in the afternoon sun.
MICRO: Each planting of my snowshoe on steeper slopes triggered bits of snow to tumble downhill like
zippers in a track event, each one spinning itself into a tiny carefree wheel that ultimately crashed. I felt like
Old Mother West Wind dispatching the Merry Little Breezes.
February 19: Tapped Out!
TAPPING STATUS: Completed as of early afternoon Sunday! Today was Day Seven.
LINGO REVIEW: The woods where we tap trees is our SUGARBUSH. We call it THE BUSH. So today we’re
exclaiming, “The bush is tapped out!!!”
WEATHER: Today stayed below freezing but not by much. Still, it felt brisk, and the snow crunched under
our snowshoes once again.
SOME VALLEY: The other day a Nebraska Valley neighbor (who knows we can never get enough to eat
during sugar season) stopped by with a jar of Maple-Rosemary Roasted Nuts, concocted that morning in
her sunny kitchen. The label read: SUGAR SEASON 2012. This year’s culinary theme
is…..well…..Maple, because everything tastes Better with a little bit of Maple. Especially
Nebraska Knoll Maple. A wizard in the kitchen, and famous for her inimitable presentation, she now has
a new post, that of FoodCorrespondent for the Nebraska Knoll Blog.
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This just in from our FOOD CORRESPONDENT:
From: Maple-Trout-Lilli
Spring marks the time in Nebraska Valley when all thoughts turn to maple. Maple to us means: spring,
rejuvenation, and making our morning tea/coffee with fresh sap. The smoke rising above the old Adams
barn means Nebraska Sugar knoll is turning sap to syrup. The warm, vaporous fire, tinged with sweetness
and smoke, seems to provide an ideal atmosphere for good conversations; foods of varied flavors and
tastes are magically provided by friends and visitors. While the arch is being prepped for the first boil,
why not stoke your inner fire with this delicious, “lite” Sugarhouse Brunch?
FIRST-RUN MAPLE BISCUITS
INGREDIENTS:
For Topping:
½ Lb. Mackenzie Bacon
¼ Cup Nebraska Knoll Maple Sugar 2 TBS Flour
2 TBS Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup
1 TBS Melted Butter
For Biscuits
1 ½ Cups Flour
½ Cup medium-ground Cornmeal
2 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt
4 TBS Cold Butter (cut into small pieces)
1 Cup Cold Buttermilk
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 475. Lightly grease an 8 inch square or 9 inch round pan.
2. Chop cooked bacon into ½ inch pieces and combine with remaining topping ingredients and spread
into prepared pan.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Work in cold butter until crumbly. Add buttermilk, stirring
lightly to make a sticky dough.
4. Drop dough in heaping tablespoonfuls over topping in pan.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn oven off and leave for an additional 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
6. Remove from oven and immediately turn pan over onto a serving plate. Scrape any topping left in
pan onto biscuits.
7. Serve in a pool of warm maple Nebraska Knoll syrup.
Yield: 16 Small Biscuits
Adapted from PJ Hamel, King Arthur Flour
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February 21: Nearly There
9:00 PM. Working with a headlamp, Lew just connected the final main line to the sap shed. This means
we can now begin to collect sap. The main lines each have a few thousand taps running into them; they are
the arteries flowing to the heart of our modern operation, the vacuum pump, housed in the sap shed.
WEATHER: Two blessed days of cold, Sunday and Monday, gave us the time to set up the sugarhouse in
the daytime, a luxury denied us in years when the sap gushes as we tap. Still, tonight may be a late night.
The thermometer is currently hovering at 32 degrees. If it rises to 33, the sap could start running in the
night. Let’s hope it freezes.
FIVE-DAY GLOVE PRIMER, Day One: I found the gloves in the back of the store along a wall. It was
last February when we were tapping. There were puddles in the parking lot of the Aubuchon Hardware
store in Hardwick, where I driven in the van to pick up a stash of
syrup drums. This hardware store, though a chain, seemed new and
fresh because it was in Hardwick up in the Northeast Kingdom of
Vermont; I had never laid eyes on the help. I overbought, because
once a year I forget about budget and do some impulse buying of
rubber gloves. I bought all they had of the periwinkle blue gloves and
the shiny green, long-armed, heavy-duty gloves.
A Tanka (Poem) for Tapping:
Tree by Tree
Hand grips cordless drill
Hand pulls stubby off its nub
Hand retrieves new spout
Hand, with hammer, taps in spout,
Taps in stubby, takes up drill.
February 22: Sap’s Running, Scurry scurry
Weather: The scenario we feared last night -above freezing temps – got delayed until tonight, but we are
ready for it. It snowed a skiff overnight, and today climbed from 29 degrees to the low 40′s: a cloudy day.
Tonight the temp is the dreaded 33 degrees. It is raining.
How’s it running? So-so. We started collecting sap at 11:00 am, and hope to make it through the night
without filling all our tanks.
Sap sweetness: An impressive 2%, meaning the sap is 98% water, 2% sugar. Usually the first sap is 1.5 or
1.6%.
A Critical Surprise: “I have NEVER had one of these go bad, never EVER,” said L, referring to the fitting
on an outdoor faucet set up just to run water up to the sap shed where we must have it in order to cool
the vacuum pump. Well, the problem is still undiagnosed, but L ran the hose from the next closest faucet.
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Glove Primer, Day Two: Why is it that when I buy rubber gloves I find it difficult to discern, through the
packaging, how easily they will slide on? A good rubber glove must be stiff enough so I can work my hands
into them without having to peel front and back apart, but supple enough so I can feel through them what
I need to feel, and of course high enough so water does not easily get in.
Quote of the Day: “Why does this thing have to run out of grease? It runs out of grease once every five
years. Of course, right when I’m in a hurry…”
February 23: First Boil
Don’t borrow trouble, my grandmother would say in a stern tone. Sugaring, in particular the first day of
boiling, are the cure for this vexing malady so aptly articulated by Mark Twain, who purportedly said,
“I’ve had a lot of troubles in my time, but fortunately most of them never happened.” We could NEVER
dream up the troubles that erupt on the first day of boiling each year, and besides, we are much too busy
to try.
It’s all due to the ‘mouth’: the firebox stuffed with red-hot logs: skinny beech logs; fat ash chunks; sticks
of spruce, hemlock and birch blazing away, heating up the sap in the pans to a seething froth that will burn
if not tended to. Twice last night we stopped stoking and opened the fire box door to cool the pans off
while we restored some order.
It is also due to a new, more sophisticated setup for concentrating sap, so we must learn how to govern
the evaporator with this year’s ‘high octane’ sap.
A Critical Surprise: I opened up the spigot on the filter tank, where the finished syrup collects – the syrup
was muddy – something was terribly wrong with the filter press - uh,oh, no filter papers on some of the
plates - oh no, I know why: lax, careless training (by me) of new crew - quick, empty the tank - quick,
undo the filter press – why don’t these huge wingnuts spin faster?- what, another pail of syrup ready so
soon? – a real surge – Joe! run and grab some white buckets from the other room - Quick, Quick.
But this sort of trouble has a clear source and a straightforward, though messy, fix.
A More Critical Surprise: Why are these pans so high? says Lew. Where is that sapcoming from? Lower
the float to 8! Where’s the ruler? What is the depth in the back pan? The front pan? The float seems fine,
what is going on? Why won’t the sap in this trough go down? The fire raged, syrup was building up in the
middle troughs, lots of it, needing somewhere to go. Try raising the float again. What’s it on now –
6? …..Hours of this, and, as I imagine a lock in a canal to do, the back pan flooded over and over.
We got through the boil with assorted adjustments of the float, the gate valves and plugs, but still no one
seems to know why we could not regulate the flow in the pans. Lew is working on the float today.
TANKA
First stoke of the fire
First broken hydrometer
First whiff of maple
First cleaning up to Graceland
First visit of the neighbors
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February 24: O Joy, It’s Snowing
Weather: Yesterday was just above freezing; today has been just
below freezing and currently it is snowing seriously – the first real
snow since Thanksgiving.
How’s It Running? It ran a bit yesterday, but the woods crew
reported packed slush in some of the lines. Today, no sap.
Tap Status: The total number of taps this season is just over 9700.
Syrup Status: 152 gallons from our first boil, not bad considering we
had to sweeten the pans.
Five-Day Glove Primer, Day Three:
Tapping Gloves: Each tapper supplies his or her own. Mittens won’t
do because we need our fingers for picking each slim new plastic spout
out of a pocket or carpenter’s pouch and inserting it into the newlydrilled taphole. I could not decide between a stretchy glove liner or a
fleece glove with a reinforced palm; eventually I chose the latter for
warmth and wore a mitten on my left hand.
Designs by a mouse and a squirrel
Stoking Gloves: Pliable long-cuffed welding gloves of nubuck leather, kept on a high shelf but quick to
migrate to the bench by the firebox where they are shared by all, stoking gloves feel the most welcoming
of all sugarhouse gloves. Before a stoke, just slide your hands horizontally into the gloves, raise your arms
over your head, and wiggle your fingers to work the gloves on. The rule, strictly enforced, is to use stoking
gloves only for stoking; no one wants to stoke with stiff, sugared-up gloves. This season, we have TWO
new pair of stoking gloves, one brown and one black. My cup is full.
*******
Snow Tanka:
Skiing uphill, the
Snow caresses cheeks, nose, eyes.
Skiing downhill the
Snow stings, feels sharp, is against.
Pointillism on the move.
Winter's floral arrangement- Witch Hobble
- what is left after the moose feast on it.
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February 25: Gone Skiing
Jake creating clouds on The Schuss
Weather: White on white.
This Too is Sugar Season: Ski days in between sap runs. Today Lew led a bunch of us, including crew
member Jake, on a backcountry ski tour here in our Valley, seeking out the steeper powder runs. ‘The
Schuss’ in the photo is just above the Morningside section of our sugarbush.
Quote of the Day: I feel like I’m inside a snow globe, waiting for someone to stop shaking it.
February 26: What’s In the Oven?
This just in from our Food Correspondent Maple-Trout-Lilli on this chilly Sunday evening:
If you’re hungering for something delicious and nutritious, sweet and savory, look no further. Pop some of
these tasty morsels into your mouth and close your eyes. The maple flavors could conjure up images of
steam pluming from Nebraska Knoll Sugarhouse; rosemary evokes thoughts of pending warm spring days.
Gather up the ingredients listed below, warm your oven and savor the aromas. And remember, nuts are
rich in Vitamin E and B, minerals and fiber.
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MAPLE-ROSEMARY ROASTED NUTS
2 C Almonds
2 C Walnuts
2 C Pecans
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/2+ tsp. Coarse Salt
Black Pepper
1/8 – 1/4 C Fresh Rosemary
1 1/2 - 2 TBSP Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup
1 – 2 tsp. Nebraska Knoll Maple Sugar
Toss nuts in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper,
Maple-Rosemary Roasted Nuts
rosemary and maple syrup to coat evenly. Add more or
less syrup and/or salt according to your taste. Divide it among 2 roasting pans and Bake at 325
for 15-20 minutes, or until the nuts begin to brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Nebraska
Knoll Maple Sugar and let cool. Store in airtight containers.
Blogger’s Note: If you want these to last more than a day, store them in airtight containers and hide
them behind the piano.
February 29: Gone Skiing, the Sequel
Tanka:
What if I could click
on the word February
And it slid over
To reveal another day:
February 29.
Weather: It is fully winter here, and snowing again as I type.
This year is only the fourth
year since 1980 that we have made
syrup in February, the others being
1984, 1985 and 2000. Following the
Feb. 25th, 1984 boil, we waited until
March 16 for the sap to run again.
Sugar season 2012 is on hold…..
North face of the Chin on Mt. Mansfield
Meanwhile, what is there to do? Go
skiing with the crew! Here are some shots taken on the Mt. Mansfield ridge
line. Our guys have been exploring the extremities of the ridge, the
Forehead to the south and the Chin to the north.
Initiation of our southern California
crew; he climbs, he surfs, and now he
skis
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March 1: Introducing the Map
Here is The Map, created by Lew to show all pertinent details of our woods operation. You can now refer
to it anytime from the Blog Header. It is a working map, meaning that each one of those blue squiggles
represents a tubing line. We use it to discuss findings and problems. I hope your home view of it is large
enough to read!
Within the solid green line is land we have tapped for a few decades; within the dotted line is Vermont
State land we have tapped for three years, including 2012, dubbed Keystone for the way it notches into the
V-shape of our old sugarbush. Note our sugarbush has three exposures: north, south and east, but not west.
Macro: The prettiest of days – a day of new clingy Japanese
snow.
Micro: Snow scarves drape the maples, the beech, the birches,
the spruce, the pines.
Snow pillows stuff the crotches of the old twisty apple trees.
Scores of withered apples still hang from the upper branches:
each sports a white chef’s hat as light as meringue, reminding
me of the mischievous monkeys in the white tree in Caps for
Sale, a children’s book by Esphyr Slobodkina.
Someone asked how the skier got to the Chin in yesterday’s
photo. Here is a photo showing the route heading up from the
top of the gondola at Stowe Mountain Resort.
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March 3: What, they’re all gone?
1
Maple-Trout-Lilli writes:
Serendipity is often the prime ingredient to
successful sugar making. With the right
combination of evening and daytime
temperatures, wind from the west and other
unknown natural phenomena, the sap flows
bountifully. Serendipity came to play this
morning as I read the blog entry for March
1 . The tree branches were described
as: “….each sports a white chef’s hat as light
as meringue…” I had been thinking all week
about making this week’s entry of Maple
Meringues and there it was, serendipity at
work.
st
Maple Meringues
MAPLE MERINGUES
The maple sugar in this recipe goes by the name ‘Maple Snow’ up at the sugarhouse. It really does resemble
snow, too, with its fine light crystals.
2 Egg Whites
¼ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon Nebraska Knoll Maple Snow for sprinkling
Preheat oven 225 degrees
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine first three ingredients and beat until soft foamy peaks form.
Gradually add Nebraska Knoll Maple Snow and beat until stiff and glossy.
Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of Nebraska Knoll Maple Snow.
Bake for 1 ½ hours. Turn off heat and leave in oven with the door closed for an additional 1 ½ hours.
Store in an airtight container.
[Adapted from King Arthur Flour]
They are crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and melt in your mouth like sugar-on-snow.
Note: You may refer to Maple-Trout-Lilly recipes on the Recipe Page of the Nebraska Knoll website.
How’s It Running? The temp rose to about 40 degrees this afternoon, but the sap is running poorly. A
Southeast wind blew in this warm air – what we want is a west wind, as Maple-Trout-Lilly mentioned –
and in fact the wind is turning around to the west, but it is blowing in cold air, so we do not expect much
sap this evening.
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March 5: Sheer Propulsion
Weather: Today is clearcut: cold – in the teens – no sap
run. Yesterday and the preceding night were a tease; it was
just warm enough for the sap to dribble in but there was
not enough sap to boil. We debated boiling anyway in
order to have empty tanks going into today’s Arctic cold
snap, to prevent the headaches brought on by frozen sap in
the sap shed and in the lines that transport the sap to the
sugarhouse. Instead we ran the sap through the Reverse
Osmosis machine, thus storing the sap in its concentrated
form, in the sugarhouse. That might freeze too, but the sap
shed tanks are now ready for the fresh sap that we expect
during the thaw forecast for later this week.
Snow falling in front of the sugarhouse
Sap Sweetness: Two percent – discernibly sweet. This is good; we hope the trend continues.
Five-Day Gloves Primer, Day Four: The four pairs of “Heavy Duty, All-Purpose, Tres Resistant, MultiUsage, Muy Resistente, Multi-Uso PREMIUM” rubber gloves sitting in a paper bag by the back door need
to be returned. I was fooled by the color; last year’s winners were a similar shade of blue. These ‘bluettes’
take two hands to put on, they feel stiff, and the lining is skimpy. Que c’est dommage.
Wood Gloves: These are for throwing wood into the sugarhouse from the woodshed and stacking it up a
few feet from the firebox door: regular work gloves, leather and cloth.Cleaning-the-Ashes Gloves: A
grubbier form of wood gloves. Holes in the thumbs.
A Visit with the Elders: Today, The Foreman.
The other day I stopped by for a visit with The Foreman. On the Sugarbush map, you will see the Tap
Count box. Below the lower right-hand corner of this box lives The Foreman, right on the dotted green
line, at the top of a tubing line, overseeing the mob of trees at Penn Station. He’s looking very well – beefy
as always, tough, unshaven but attractively so. I detected no sign of dieback. The bark manifests in scruffy
tiles that peel off in tiny wafers if you coax them.
There on the mountainside I walked around The Foreman; his trunk undulates, as does the terrain. In a sort
of scalloped symmetry, lobes of the tree are set off by shallow valleys, as though the tree, though one, is
many.
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March 6: Town Meeting Day
Town by town across Vermont,
residents gather for Town Meeting
Day on the first Tuesday of March to
discuss and vote on budgets, to elect
town officials, to eat a hot-dish lunch in
the school cafeteria, to buy Girl Scout
cookies at a booth run by a girl who lives
up the road you have not seen since last
summer. Town Meeting Day is a relic
from agrarian times in Vermont when
farmers would milk the cows, head to
the meeting and be home in time for
evening chores. These days, since so
many people work day jobs, the bigticket items such as the school budget are
voted by Australian ballot. Still, in its
Beech leaves as seen today
contemporary form, Town Meeting is
democracy you can reach out and touch.
Stowe’s town meeting begins at 8:00 am in the high school auditorium – it is a school holiday - and wraps
up by noon. The moderator presides from his podium; in front of him sitting at a long table are the school
board members and the select board, variously garbed in suit and tie, dark shirt and tie, silk scarves,
Johnson wool vest.
-The Moderator, to citizen: Is that in the form of an amendment to the main motion?
-Yes.
-Is there a second?… Mr. Post.
-The main motion has been amended to read, “…………….” Is there discussion?
-DISCUSSION
-Any more discussion or comments before we put it to a vote?
-No? All those in favor say ‘Aye’ (a couple weak ayes).
-Those opposed, ‘Nay’ (the crowd roars NAY).
-The Nays have it (to the amendment). Moderator strikes his wooden gavel on the podium.
-Are we ready for a vote on Article Four? (crowd nods)
-”Will the town in town meeting authorize the town to spend…….?”
-All those in favor say “Aye’. AYE. All those opposed, ‘Nay’ (silence). The Ayes have it.
Single thump of moderator’s gavel on podium.
*************
Town Meeting Day to a sugarmaker signifies: If you don’t have your trees tapped yet you’re in for
trouble. And this year we mean it; tomorrow is forecast to shoot up to 45 degrees, with more warm days
behind it. Hold on to your hat, we’re in for a ride.
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March 7: Where’s the leak?
Weather: Disconcertingly warm. 45 in the shade and hot in the sun. No
freeze-up tonight.
How’s It Running? It’s starting to ‘kick in’ this evening.
What’s the crew up to? Mid-morning, as soon as the vacuum pump
went on, they got the call to pack it up and head to the bush.
In the words of Crew Captain, Jake:
The weather warms, the sap runs, everyone’s thoughts turn to the
sugarhouse and boiling. The crew’s focus is on the pressure gauge on the
vacuum pump. It now reads 17; we need it to read 23. Building the
pressure in the lines involves pinpointing needle-sized holes in the tubing
system spread across 200 acres of the sugarbush.
We gather our tools: red tool, matt knife, pruners, saw, vise grips,
hammer, drill. We gather tubing repair components: tubing, connectors,
tees, stubbies, checks. We gather main line repair tools: propane torch,
bituthane, couplings, hose clamps, socket wrench, 1/4 inch screwdriver, wire,
wire tool, pliers. We pack it up and head to the bush.
You might see this while checking for
tubing leaks
We look for damage: deer and squirrels will chew on the lines, moose will push straight through the lines,
trees will shed their branches on top of the lines.
Once in the bush pinpointing leaks involves watching and listening. We watch the rate of the bubble flow
in the lateral tubing. Uniform bubbles are what we hope to find. If the bubbles are racing, there’s a leak. To
find the leak we follow the bubbles up the line until we hear the high-pitched hiss. We find the leak and we
repair it.
What is happening down at the sugarhouse? It is best not to ask. A sap pipe exploded and L doesn’t
know how he’s going to get to that spot to repair it. The release pump is running all the time when it
shouldn’t be and needs to be babysat. Time to go.
March 8: Boiling Day
A breathless day – twelve hours of momentum in the
sugarhouse – a hot day to be out there, didn’t feel right –
dramatic dark skies, then violent wind and rain this
evening – pail after pail of sticky syrup – the aroma, ah,
the aroma – the ensemble working out its boiling
choreography – debut of L’s Cleanup Music CD, lots of
loud strong beat - Sloppy Janes for dinner, brought by a
neighbor – 336 gallons of Fancy syrup today……All
around the state tonight the steam is rolling off syrup
pans….
...and the sap may run all night again. It is running better
than it has all day, as the chilly west wind displaces the snow-eating heat wave.
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March 9: If Only
If only it had warmed up two more degrees today.
If only it had frozen night before last.
If only it would not get up to sixty degrees middle of next week.
If only we could have a normal winter like last year.
If only I had remembered to close the drain in the pump room.
If only the guy would come to sand the driveway.
If only someone had thought to clean out the
holes in the filter press waffles.
If only the syrup wouldn’t come around so fast.
If only the syrup wouldn’t come around so
slowly.
WEATHER: A thirty-degree temperature drop
overnight, from 52 to 22. A skiff of snow, melded
with the ice on the driveway so we did not need
to call the sand truck after all.
Today, a sharp northwest wind and sun but the
temp never broke 32.5. It might have been a
good sugaring day if only the air had warmed up
to 34 or so.
How’s It Running? The sap ran until 4:00 a.m.
and choked off.
So far this year we have not had good sugaring
weather.
What makes for good sugaring
weather? Some of the factors are:
 Oscillating temperatures, above and below
freezing: the yo-yo effect

Wind from the north, sap flows forth.
Wind from the south, sap is drouth.
Wind from the east, sap flows least.
Wind from the west, sap flows best.
[a
time-honored Vermont saying]
 Snow helps a run, rain kills a run.
Cozy home for a sugarbush mouse
Today seemed promising since it froze last
night and was sunny with a northwest wind. The trees respond to the tension between a warm sun on the
crowns and a brisk northwest
wind. We have had many an excellent run on days
like today when the temp was only 33 or 34.
Not only has it been hot lately – above freezing day and night – but the wind has been from the
southeast. The sap will run anyway in these conditions, especially with a modern tubing system, but it tends
16
to slow down dramatically after a couple of days. There are exceptions. One year the sap ran around the
clock for five days – that was our sugar season.
There are always exceptions. In fact, every day is an exception and so is every year. One year we had
ideal sugaring weather day after day but scarcely any sap. Too muchwind, said one farmer. A drought
under all that snow, said another farmer.
No one seems to know.
March 10: Saturday Night Supper at Grandma’s House
Just in on this crisp wintry bluebird Saturday
is a word from our Food Correspondent,
Maple-Trout-Lilli:
Sugar’n at Nebraska Knoll Sugar House
combines modern technology with tried and
true Yankee ingenuity. For me, this recipe
for Maple Bread Pudding is reminiscent of
visits to grandma’s house and a time when
simple, common ingredients were utilized to
create delicious treats. In addition, it’s a
thing of beauty, fresh from the oven, wafting
smells ….. comfort food.
This recipe can be served as dessert, to refuel
after a hearty day outdoors or to recharge
the sugar-making crew. Don’t be afraid to
add a dollop of maple syrup or your favorite hard sauce for some added pleasure!
MAPLE BREAD PUDDING
6 slices challah bread
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup raisins
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup Nebraska Knoll Maple Snow
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest from 1/2 an orange (finely grated rind)
Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup
Whipped Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream (optional)
17
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Toast bread on both sides under the broiler until golden and chop into bit- sized pieces. Place in a
buttered 8 inch square baking pan.
3. Whisk together raisins, eggs, half and half, milk, maple snow, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and zest and
pour over toasted bread. Let sit for ½ hour or so.
4. Drizzle with melted butter and raisins before going into the oven.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly tapped.
6. Serve Warm and drizzle with Nebraska Knoll Mahard sauce.ple Syrup.
7. Serve with freshly made whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or your favorite
hard sauce.
March 11: Here We Go1
Weather: Sunny, high in mid-forties, little wind. Will it freeze tonight?
How’s the Sap Running?: To quote the Chief-of-Operations, “It’s
running NOW.” The first true sap run of the season.
Boiling Status: We are about to fire up the arch – in other words, we
are about to light a fire in the evaporator – and I cannot predict how
late into the night we’ll boil.
Catching Up: These are the problems, possibly or possibly not
mentioned in earlier posts, that have been resolved:
1) The flow problem in the evaporator was due to a faulty gasket in
the float. With a new gasket installed, the level in the pans is staying
constant.
2) The release pump is turning off when it should. The sap pours off
the hill into a fat cylinder. When this fills up, the release pump sends it
gushing into the sap storage tank. A delicate mechanism controls this
action, and all the parts have to be arranged ‘just so’.
3) Filter pump replaced with a new stainless steel one.
4) Warped firebox grate replaced.
5) The vacuum pressure is up over 23 pounds – excellent news.
Sure sign of sugar season
Glove Primer, Day Five:
Drawing-Syrup Gloves: The yellow gloves will do, if you think you need them. I do. This job entails
dipping a broad scoop into the roiling troughs of almost-syrup. Steam burns, I learned years ago.
Filling-Jugs Gloves: The cheap yellow ones will do for the task of guiding the fresh, hot syrup into jugs
through a copper pipe fitting. How tough your hands are determines your need for gloves. The younger
you are the more tender your hands, so you may want to wear two gloves: the left to handle the jug, the
right to twist the copper fitting at the critical moment. I wear only the right glove.
Changing-the-Filter-Press Gloves: Choose between the heavy insulated black ones, the long-armed green
ones or the skimpy yellow rubber gloves. This is a hot job, but you need to be able to feel the holes in
order to line up the new filter papers. Experiment.
18
Cleanup Gloves: It is best to choose your favorite, most comfortable pair,
since you will be wearing them for an hour to scrub down the inside of the
pans, the outside of the pans, the sides of the arch, the float box, the wooden
platforms, the filter press, the miscellaneous metal and plastic buckets, the tops
for the buckets, the counters, the preheater, the removable shields, the spoons
and scoops and plugs, the floor. Good gloves and good tunes with a powerful
bass line: these are what you need to push on through cleanup. NOTE: I mean
an hour for three crew members.
H said last year she liked the blue ones the best since they do not leave an
The Pillar
imprint. But there are none this year since, as I mentioned, I didn’t get up to the
Hardwick Aubuchon. Sliding on the stiffer green ones instead she exclaimed with delight, “Ah, virgin fuzz.”
She hides her favorite gloves; we all do.
March 12: The Deluge
Weather: The thermometer dipped to 28 at one point during the night
but an inversion kept the sap gushing. Today was in the low 50′s and
tonight is in the high 30′s.
How’s It Running? Tanks overflowing twice. The RO could scarcely keep
up, but finally tonight the run has abated to a manageable level.
Boiling Status: Last night we finished up at 3:30 a.m. (a much more
reasonable 2:30 a.m. in the old time). Tonight will be later.
Syrup Status: Going into today, 602 gallons.
A Critical Surprise: That pricey new stainless steel filter press pump
would not pump.
Music to Boil By: Soundtrack to the movie The Big Easy.
News from the Sugarmakers up the road: Overflowing sap buckets.
Nason said that this winter reminded him of the winter of 1948.
Macro: Birdsong.
Falls Brook Finery, March 10
Micro: Urg-guh-LEE
Introducing a new series, The Constant Hope For Silence, submitted by Ben, a Nebraska Valleyite
currently doing a stint in New York, who for several years joined the woods crew during Spring Break.
The Constant Hope For Silence, Part I: The work in the sugarbush that nobody thinks of is line
maintenance.
Come spring, everybody thinks of the early season tapping, and then the social event of boiling. Nobody
thinks of the work that goes into maintaining 200 acres worth of line that serve as a vehicle for sap.
But this work might be the hardest of the year. It is a constant effort to repair the damage that the various
rodents and hoofed animals wreak upon these lines, whether it is three feet that have been chewed or
thirty that have been stretched past breaking by a roving moose.
19
March 14: Here’s to Now
Sitting on the back bench three feet from the syrup pans while L stokes
the fire, J draws syrup across the steam from me, C fills gallon jugs over
by the red counter, and A mops off the top of the preheater as Paul
Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing in near whispers, “Homeless,
homeless, moonlight sleep on the midnight train,” I am writing a quick
post to say we are still here boiling off the sap from this one continuous
run. Today feels more like sugaring weather than any day since Sunday:
cold enough to get out of the draft coming from the woodshed doors,
that are cracked a bit to keep the steam down in here, by standing near
the firebox door.
“It could use a stoke,” says J, so C just turned off the blower, opened up
the firebox door, poked the coals with the crowbar and is cramming as
much wood in as he can. Uh, with a flick of his foot he just turned the
blower back on and the arch is resuming its baritone ostinato rumble.
Steamy Front Pan
In walks Joe, home from school, with his mother, greeted boisterously by J. Meanwhile, C has climbed into
the woodshed with Joe to throw wood down. LB has put on the red apron and filled a pail with hot water
– we have a continuous stream of very hot distilled water running off the preheater – oops “There she is,
half of the A team!” exclaims J as G appears in the doorway. “Note the pink rubber boots!” L is setting up
a tripod on top of a ladder, the better to take photos of the steam; this is a sure sign of things being under
control at the moment, the other being the laptop in my lap.
If you were to walk in we would offer you a cup of hot syrup. The cup dispenser is mounted on the red
syrup tank close to the spigot.
Time for another stoke.
“You should put on some tunes, Gabriela,” says Jake.
“I’ll go put a lasagna in the oven. After cleanup we’ll have a dinner party – lasagna and maple syrup
biscuits,” I say.
“I see what you’re doing,” says J. “You’re going in to cook so you can get out of cleanup. I know your
methods.”
Click. A photo of Joe throwing wood.
From the boombox, with a booming start: Ugly Casanova singing Here’s to Now.
Post Script: QUICK! WHERE’S THE SCOOP?????
20
March 14: Caught Up
Weather: Anything below 40 degrees now feels cold after several days
in the fifties and sixties. No freezing nights. We have not once this year
experienced the warm day – cold night – warm day pattern so necessary
for successive, strong sap runs. Temps are running well above normal for
mid-March, in particular at night. It is not good sugaring weather.
How’s It Running? The sap continues to run around the clock, although
less well each day – a predictable circumstance, given the warm nights.
Boiling Status: Finally late this afternoon we caught up with the sap.
Yesterday we made 371 gallons, not quite matching our all-time record of
375 gallons. We are being whipped into shape as a team, the four of us
who work full-time.
Daily Changes: On Monday, the syrup in the pans was heavy with gritty
Cameron packing today's hot syrup
sugar sand (niter), a sign of mid-season. Tuesday the sugar sand was nearly
gone and there were moths on the sap tanks, signs of late season. Also on Tuesday the sap sweetness
dropped below 2%, another sign of late season. These indicators would reverse if only we had a hard
freeze.
The Constant Hope for Silence, Part II
It is work that keeps you in the present. You must constantly be listening while you watch the flow of
bubbles in the tap lines. The silence of the woods becomes a rich sound as you wait for the tearing hiss of a
vacuum leak in the distance. The taplines themselves can be the best indicators of damage – racing bubbles
reveal a leak somewhere further up the line.
March 15: Still Running
Weather: In the forties, clearing skies in the afternoon. No freezing nights. I
just heard thunder – this is alarming.
How’s It Running? As soon as blue sky reigned, at around 2:00 p.m., the sap
run gained remarkable vigor. Apparently sun on the crowns of the maples
made the difference. Tonight the run is back to its laconic pace – this is the fifth
night without a freeze-up – and the quality of the sap is poor. No surprise here.
View from the woodshed
Boiling Status: A two-hundred gallon day today. Cleaned up by 10:00 p.m. Half
the ‘hood came by this evening, including a father and son who sugar up the road. It isn’t often that
sugarmakers are able to get away to stop in at other sugarhouses, but today Eddie and Scottie finished
boiling early. Eddie’s grandfather sugared the lower part of our bush with horses years ago.
Sugarhouse Menu: Baked beans, sausage, cabbage salad, cooked corn, rye bread.
Music to Boil by: Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, 8-29-87 (If trouble don’t kill me, I’ll live a long time…)
Quote of the Day: There’s always somethin’.
21
The Constant Hope for Silence, Part III:
After several hours you find the rhythm of the day. New tubing is cut in
to replace chew. Chewed taps are replaced. Missed taps are drilled and
set. Trees that have fallen over the lines are cut and moved.
Occasionally the blow torch and bituthane are brought out to patch
bear chew on the mains. Every piece of hardware is used, taps, tees,
connectors, all connected to tubing with the red tool – the line walker’s
closest friend.
March 16: Steam in the Hills
Weather: “One misty, moisty morning, when foggy was the weather, I
chanced to meet an old man clothed all in leather. He began to
compliment and I began to grin. ‘How do you do, and ‘how do you
do’, and ‘how do you do’ again.”
Macro: Days like today, one can see the steam rising from the sugarhouse cupola from quite a distance.
Micro: All about are tufts of thin white clouds issuing enigmatically from the hills. In their midst, the silent
balloon of steam grips one like a magnet.
How’s It Running? Despite no freezing night, the sap is chugging along. The blessing today is that the
temp stayed in the high 30′s. It was a wool jacket day, and therefore felt refreshingly seasonal.
Boiling Status: Yes, we boiled again. Day Eight.
Behind the Scenes: Not yet evident from this blog is this: Someone – L, our Chief of Operations – needs
to be up throughout the night to run the reverse osmosis machine which concentrates the sap. Earlier in the
week the RO needed cleaning every four hours – a process taking one
hour – but now that the sap is cloudy, due to no freezing nights, it
needs cleaning every two hours. So, for L, this means a two-hour
power nap, one hour of work, another two-hour power nap – and so
forth. He also monitors the vacuum pump and directs the unceasing
sap to the appropriate tank.
Back Into the Woods:
The Constant Hope for Silence, Part IV:
Arching over the day is the constant hope for silence, and the tentative
pause – head cocked – when that distant hiss is first heard. It would be
dreary work, but it usually comes on a warm and sunny day. The
gentle pace of the bubbles in the taplines combines with the pregnant
silence to emphasize the slow end of winter.
THE END
-B. Hutchins
22
March 17: Savory
I detect some green in today’s recipe from our Food Correspondent, Maple-Trout-Lilli:
Brussel Sprouts… you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. Well, this will surely make you a lover of brussel
sprouts, as everything does tastes better with a little bit of maple. This recipe is similar to a Grade A Fancy
run occurring early in the season when the sun warms the dormant sugarbush just long enough to make
clear, delicious sap run, just briefly.
Not all maple-infused foods need to have
big maple flavor. Like Grade A Fancy Syrup,
this recipe is subtle and delicious; enjoy!
RED-ONION-BRUSSEL-SPROUT SLAW
WITH MAPLE-SHALLOT DRESSING
1 Cup coarsely chopped red onion
4 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1TBS white balsamic vinegar
1 lb brussel sprouts (about 3 Cups shaved)
1/4 Cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp. Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup
1 TBS minced shallot
Your Favorite Vermont soft cheese (optional)
1. Heat 1 TBS olive oil in medium sauté pan and add onions; cook until slightly charred and soft, 10-15
minutes; transfer onions to a bowl and toss with vinegar;
2. Meanwhile prepare brussel sprouts. Remove outer leaves and trim nubs. Using a mandoline or sharp
knife, cut sprouts paper-thin. Transfer shaved leaves to mixing bowl. Add onions and parmesan cheese
and toss;
3. Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk 3 TBS Olive Oil, lemon juice, maple syrup and shallot. Season
w/S&P.
4. Slice your favorite soft cheese and serve over salad. We love, Triple Crème, by Champlain Valley
Creamery, or Oh My Heart, by Lazy Lady Farm.
Blogger’s Note: Maple-Trout-Lilli surprised us with this salad on the first warm day in March. One serving
led to another in an attempt to clarify its allure. Not until I read the recipe did I even know it was a brussel
sprout salad. Subtle indeed – and superb.
P.S. Boiling day today, Day Nine.
March 18: What’s Happening Today?
We will be boiling all day. Visitors are welcome. Taste the hot syrup. No sugar-on-snow – that will happen
next weekend during Maple Open House, Sat. and Sun. 10-4.
23
March 18: The Preheater
Weather: Hot. I did not check,
but I think it was in the midseventies.
How’s It Running?: Hard.
Hard and hot, the sap
measuring 69 as it enters the
RO machine.
Sap Sweetness: Down from an
earlier high of 2% sugar to 1.6
%. Typical of late season.
Boiling Status: Day Ten.
Fitting over the pan is the preheater. The sap circulates through its coils
before gurgling into the back pan, all the while being warmed by the
steam. A tray below the copper coils collects the condensed water from
the underside of the preheater unit. It drips into a bucket from the
copper pipe in the foreground, supplying us with clean-smelling hot
distilled water for all of our sugarhouse chores.
Warm sap and a moth
24
March 19: One More Day
Weather: In short, it is too hot for sugaring. A stretch of days like this in the seventies turns the sap into a
murky soup. If it were to freeze hard for one night, the sap would clear up and the season would resume.
Boiling Status: We did boil today, while others moved on to raking and gardening. More on this
tomorrow.
Tanka for the day sugar season succumbed to the heat wave
This evening I hear
Falls Brook for the first time since
This mad run began.
It has been there all alongCould not compete with the pumps.
March 20: Ozone Man
Today, following a nine-day sap run, the Chief of Operations submits a piece he wrote two years ago:
Ozone Man
I fell asleep yesterday while leaning back on the kitchen chair. I had just eaten and felt momentarily on top
of the frantic sugaring pace, when I instantly dozed off. Fortunately I awoke halfway to the floor and
instinctively rolled sideways, barely avoiding a nasty head bang.
I call this depleted condition living in the ozone and sugarmakers are especially susceptible to it. When the
trees decide to give sap, the world transforms into a state of immediacy. There is the physical endurance
test of tapping and tubing maintenance in often deep, punchy snow, and the mental stress of dealing with
mechanical problems that hammer at you in rapid-fire succession. Tubing systems and syrup making
equipment do not come with instruction manuals and sugarmakers are left to rely on resourcefulness and
improvisation. I am always amazed at how clever I can be when totally desperate.
Sap runs are relentless and non-retrievable.
Waiting for tomorrow to deal with the
situation after a good night’s rest is rarely an
option. Bouncing between exigencies and
sneaking in power naps are part of the game.
Having your head bathed in hot steam for
long periods completes the separation of mind
from body. You focus on the immediate and
float while you can over the rest.
Today, finally, the sap run has ebbed, and for
the moment at least the crushing problems
appear to have been dealt some knockout
blows. I am falling out of the ozone with the
usual hangover and renewed sense of peace
and tolerance.
L. Coty 3/15/10
25
March 21: Chimes
Maple Open House Weekend,
March 24-25. The information is now posted
on the Welcome Page of our website. Even
though we will not be boiling, we do still have
snow for Sugar-On-Snow!
*********
A high schooler learning to boil. She has just lowered the hydrometer
into the hydrometer cup and is taking a reading of the syrup's density.
Sugarhouse Chimes, in More or Less Descending
Order of Pitch
Hydrometer on hydrometer cup: Ting!
Hydrometer cup on side of syrup pan: Tweng!
Wooden defoamer stick on side of syrup pan: Taakk!
Handle of syrup pail on rim of syrup pail: Dwiink!
Long metal spoon on syrup pail: Kwaank!
Long metal spoon on draw-off box: Kwonk!
Firebox door opening: Krrrreeeeeekkkkkk!
Big scoop on rim of syrup trough: Kwung!
Big scoop on bottom of syrup trough: Kwuuunk!
Wooden paddle on side of filter tub: Pwaaaaatt!
Bung wrench on drum cap: Kkkkkjjjjjjjjjjjkkkk!
Drum on concrete floor: Hhhhhhuuuuuuunnnnnnggggggg!
Attention, Sugarhouse Rats: I welcome your own phonetic spellings of these chimes.
26
Maple Open House Weekend
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25, 10:00
a.m to 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: Nebraska Knoll Sugarhouse
WHAT: A statewide celebration of the ‘Miracle of the
Sap’. Maple syrup is Vermont’s first agricultural crop of the
new year. Sugarhouses across Vermont will be open to
visitors this weekend.
Serving sugar-on-snow
PARKING: There is limited parking at the sugarhouse, and
additional parking down on Nebraska Valley Road. For
walkers, I recommend parking down below; the driveway offers a very pleasant walk (about 1/4 mile)
through the pines and across Falls Brook. The gravel driveway is mostly dry.
ACTIVITIES:
Sugar-on-Snow: The main event, and very special this year since snow is hard to find.
We will NOT be boiling, since syrup-making was pinched off by the heat wave.
Sugarhouse tours: Group tours on the hour.
Sugarbush tours: For the hardy, a hike up the hill to see the trees, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. both
days. Please note: steep, uneven terrain. Pre-registration not required.
Maple Products for Sale: We have all grades of fresh maple syrup, plus maple sugar (maple snow) and
maple leaf candies.
March 26: Back to Winter
A Correction in the Weather: Finally a freeze-up, the first in more than two weeks. The ground is white
once again; today’s northwest wind was so fierce it belted the traffic lights at Taft’s Corners, creating
bedlam among the cars streaming in and out of the Big Boxes – drivers could not see if the light had turned
or not.
Sugaring weather – freezing nights and warm days – is in the forecast for this week.
How’s It Running? Could we have a second sugar season? It is a possibility. Never before have we
experienced a prolonged hot spell in mid-March, so we have nothing to go on.
27
Here is a poem for today, submitted by crew member Cameron after nine consecutive days of stoking the
arch.
Heart and Soul
Open the door, feed the fire
listen to the roar
feel flames singeing hair
listen to the roar
watch bubbles fold, steam billow
listen to the roar
smell sweet clouds of sugary ozone
listen to the roar
taste syrup dance across the tongue
listen to the roar
open the door, feed the fire
the heart and soul
listen to the roar
C. King
March 2012
March 27: Sweet and Sour
Macro Weather: A crisp bright freeze-up day.
Micro Weather: Ice tongues in the mud; wild leeks on banks in the high woods, brittle with frost;
chandeliers forming in the brook; trees buttoned up tight.
28
Today our local cuisiniere with a flair Maple-Trout-Lilli writes:
Sugar’n season may be over early this year due to an unnaturally long spell of very warm days and nights.
Under the circumstances, it seems apropos to close the season with a sweet & sour recipe. Who doesn’t
love that sweet and sour combination? Sugar-on-Snow with pickles anyone? This savory recipe is sure to be
a crowd pleaser. We’re hoping it will take the curse off this lackluster winter and early end to sugaring this
year… but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring that maple flavor home all year long.
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
1 20 oz. can unsweetened pineapple chunks
3 TBS unseasoned rice vinegar
2 TBS ketchup
2 TBS reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 TBS Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup
2 tsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
1 large egg
1 medium carrot shredded
¼ cup chopped scallion whites
2 TBS minced fresh ginger
1 ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
¾ tsp. salt
8 oz ground turkey breast
8 oz ground pork
2 tsp. canola oil
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1” pieces
½ cup sliced scallion greens
Preheat Oven to 450.
Line baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with oil.
Drain pineapple juice into a small bowl and whisk in vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, Nebraska Knoll Maple
Syrup, cornstarch and crushed red pepper. Set aside.
Finely chop enough pineapple to yield ½ cup. Press out excess moisture. Reserve remaining pineapple
chunks.
Lightly beat egg in large bowl. Stir in carrot, scallion whites, ginger, five-spice powder, salt and finely
chopped pineapple. Add turkey and pork; gently mix to combine. Using a scant tablespoon each, make 36
small meatballs. Bake until just cooked through about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and cook for 1 minute. Whisk the
reserved juice mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in remaining
pineapple and the cooked meatballs.
To serve, thread a meatball and a pepper onto a small skewer or toothpick. Transfer to a platter; drizzle
w/sauce and with scallion greens.
Adapted from Eating Well Magazine
29
March 28: Hurry Up and Wait
Weather: A grey, drizzly day. At one point a
torrent of hail went boinging up off the
picnic table like popping popcorn. Following
two days below freezing, the temp today
rose to 35 degrees. It may stay in the low
thirties all night.
How’s It Running? The pump is on; the sap
run has picked up since dusk. Today’s south
wind and rain are possibly inhibiting the sap
flow. Anything could happen in this topsyturvy season; the sap may revive or it may
not. Friday through Monday are predicted to
be classic sugaring days. As Jake reminded me
today, Hurry up and wait.
Falls Brook last week
March 30: Tea
Tanka
Hard to keep the blog
going when there is no sap,
though this too is sugaring:
hanging in until the fat
lady sings. She hasn’t yet.
Weather: In the low twenties last night, mid-thirties
today, bluebird. Last night’s skiff of snow has melted
off. Mt. Mansfield and the shabbily-clad ski trails glow
once again.
Lest we forget to mention the prize of sugar season.
How’s It Running? Still too cold for a run.
The simplest maple recipe of all: In the morning, boil water, pour it over a tea bag into a bone china
cup, let steep. Stir in a teaspoon of maple syrup. If you’d like, add milk or cream or evaporated milk from
a can of any brand. Quietly sip.
Mr. and Mrs. Canning invited me over many afternoons for tea in St. Anthony, Newfoundland where I
worked as a volunteer in the Grenfell hospital. Mr. Canning was a retired fisherman whose passion was
carving in local ivory. Mrs. Canning worked in the hospital, that is how I knew them. In the 1970′s, one
could occasionally buy treated milk like Parmalat for a stiff price; most everyone bought the evaporated
milk in little cans just like we do now. In her tiny kitchen with the white and blue curtains, Mrs. Canning
served Mr. Canning and me black tea; we poured evaporated milk into our cups from a pretty pitcher, and
since they were both big talkers I listened and sipped. “I likes my tea colored up real nice,” Mr. Canning
said. So do I. Ever since, tea has not been tea for me without the little can with the two punctured holes
close at hand.
30
March 31: Revival
Weather: After a cold night, skies cleared by mid-morning, temps rose into the mid-forties by the
afternoon. Breeze from the north.
How’s It Running? The usual lag early in the day, then a decent run, and now the evening lag when the
thermometer reads 30 but the sap will not quit.
Sap Sweetness: A very weak 1.2% sugar.
Boiling Status: Tomorrow – possibly not til late, since a leaky flue pan must be repaired.
Signs of revival:
The crew languidly standing around by the steps to the sap shed, their afternoon shadows stretching down
across the wooden steps onto the dry bank – nothing to do yet really, lots of nothing to banter about.
An account by a neighbor of seeing an inch-and-a-half pipe running full into overflowing sap tanks up in
Hardwick. “Wake up, guys!”
It all feels odd and dreamlike. The ground is bone dry but we just might make syrup again.
Off to clean tanks…
Meanwhile, in the woods the wild leeks push up.
31
April 1: Délicieux
Qu’est-ce que c’est que Maple-Trout-Lilli a découvert cette semaine?
Pouding aux Chomeur – A classic French Canadian dessert loved by many. Literal translation – poor
man’s pudding, my translation – simply delicious maple dessert … heaven. While Vermont is the dominant
force in U.S. maple sugaring, our Québec neighbors also have a long history of maple production. How can
a recipe incorporating Québécoise appreciation of maple products, with the cultural infusion of French
cuisine be anything less than sinful? Simple ingredients elevate this dessert to the top of my maple recipes
list. Délicieux!
INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
½ Cup Softened Butter
1/2 Cup Maple Snow
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Cups + 2 TBS sifted Cake Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/3 Cups Milk
Maple Sauce:
1 ½ Cups Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup
¼ Cup brown sugar
1 ½ Cups heavy cream
1/3 Cup butter
DIRECTIONS:
Cake:
In a large bowl mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light;
Add eggs and vanilla and mix;
In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder;
Alternate flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture;
Pour into a greased and sugared 9×13;
MAPLE SAUCE:
Bring Nebraska Knoll Maple Syrup, brown sugar, cream and butter to a boil;
Reduce heat, stir constantly and cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes;
Pour sauce gently over cake;
Bake 325 about 35-40 minutes until cake is light brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean;
Optional: Broil for a few minutes to carmelize top
Optional: Serve with Crème Fraiche
MAGNIFIQUE
*************
Le temps: Un jour nuageux; ce n’est pas chaud, ce n’est pas froid. 25 par nuit, 40 par jour. Nous sommes
tres heureuse parce que le ‘sap’ est clair comme de l’eau de roche. Crystalline. (Qu’est-ce que c’est le mot
pour ‘maple sap’ en francais?) On m’a dit que c’est la sève de l’érable.
Est-ce que nous avons bouilli à la cabane à sucre aujourd’hui? Non, ne pas aujourd’hui mais à
demain, oui!
32
April 2: Smoke Signals
Quick Update: Today is another crisp sugaring day and the sap is running strong. After many hours of
brazing the leaky flue pan we finally got boiling. It will be a late night.
A neighbor writes:
Smoke Signals
Chief Kenny Blacksmith, family friend and leader of Gathering Nations International, was telling stories the
other night with his usual his good natured sense of humor. He was poking fun at himself and at the use of
technology. “It’s all okay,” he said in his quiet, measured tone, “until everything crashes. Then you’re in
trouble.” Kenny comes from a long line of trappers. “You know, we used
to use smoke signals. They worked really well…” Then, he gave us his
classic grin and continued telling us about his recent dreams and
adventures.
I was glad to hear Kenny confirm the reliability of smoke signals. They
are indeed quite useful, especially here in the Valley during sugaring
season. When the nights are freezing and the days warm up, the question
in our household is simple and singular: “Are they boiling yet?”
Thankfully, Lew and Audrey use wood to make their syrup. “Fifty cords
this year,” Tom reminds me. It’s a lot of work of course to cut and stack
the wood, something I am not involved in, but I certainly reap the
benefits of in more ways than one. There is nothing like the romance of a
fire on a cold, wet night and this is one big fire. “Listen to the roar,” as
Cameron’s poem says. Feel the heat. Good stuff.
The sugarhouse holds a special draw for our family. It is simply, where
we like to be. More often than not, we rely on smoke signals to get us
Cameron and Joe stoking
there. We used to be able to look out our back window and up the hill to
see the smoke. Joe often did that when he was little, “They’re boiling!” he’d announce, and if indeed it
was sugaring season, there’d be a general scurry around the house as people gathered themselves to head
up the hill. Now, the view is not so clear. The trees have grown up some and so has Joe. He’s old enough
now, so we send him out as a scout. He takes his own little trail up the hill and if he doesn’t return, well,
that’s a sign in itself.
The most common method however, is one we use after a day out in the world. There is a certain peace
when you enter the Valley anyway, but when you are looking for smoke signals, it’s twice as fun. Climb
the little hill before the farm, travel along the flats and look up towards Nebraska Knoll. Take a quick peek
to see if Jake’s truck is in the driveway. If not, the plot thickens. Pass the barn, and sure enough, you did
see clearly. That wasn’t a low cloud, that was sugar smoke.
Quick, head home and make your evening decisions. They go something like this:
“Everything else can wait for goodness sake. It’s sugaring season.”
Check with the team, “Who wants to go now, who wants to go later?” Some travel by vehicle. Some take
the back trail. I prefer a nice walk up Falls Brook Road with fresh air, big pines, maybe some stars if night
has fallen, and the sound of brook. Round the corner at the top of the hill and there it is, the brightly lit
building, the smell of wood fire, smoke billowing from the chimney and sparks flying. Pass through the
door and enter the flow of good work, good company, good life.
Laurie Best Silva
April 2012
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April 5: Ideas for Easter dinner
Weather: Ideal for the first day of deer season in
November: Just enough fresh snow to catch tracks, and
cold enough so the snow does not melt.
How’s It Running? Nothing until mid-afternoon. Now
the Herbie line (named after logger Herbie Leach) is
running but not much else. The taps in the Herbie section
are cold taps: they face north and northeast and are high
on the hill. Cold taps run later in sugar season than do
warm taps. This year, exposure is more of a factor than
elevation, since no elevations were spared the heat wave
whereas the north-facing slopes were spared the
penetration of the sun.
Clear frothy sap from two days ago
Boiling Status: We boiled yesterday, Day Thirteen. We are not done yet. Today reminds me of what it is
like to sit at the garage and wait while they work on my car. It could be thirty minutes, it could be two
hours, but invariably it feels like a gift of time, the kind that does not tick – a blessed suspension.
Tanka:
Woods mute with new snow The auk of a raven – the
brook – otherwise still, like
the purposeful pause between
An inhale and an exhale.
In planning your Easter dinner, you may refer to Food Correspondent Maple-Trout-Lilli’s suggestions
for expanding the traditional New England ham and scalloped potato meal:
A VERMONT EASTER MENU
Nibbles and Hor d’oeuvres
Cheese Platter:
Maple-Rosemary Roasted Nuts
Herbed Olives
Fresh sliced pears or dried fruits
VT Taylor Farm – Farmstead Gouda
VT Lazy Lady Farm – Oh My Heart
Mansfield Bread Company baguette
Simple Crackers
The Main Event
Maple Glazed Lamb Shanks OR
VT Maple Spiral Ham with Apricot-Mustard sauce
[Blogger's note: there are many online recipes for these entrées]
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon breadcrumbs
Spring Salad (Escrole/Frisee) with fresh herbs
Scalloped Potatoes with Ramps OR
Israeli couscous with mint, lemon and pine nuts
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Sweet Maple Decadence
Pouding aux Chomeur
Morningside maple tubing two days ago. Note the sap chugging along in the line in the foreground - or more precisely,
the gas bubbles accompanying the sap.
April 6: Ashes
THE FAR CORNER OF THE SUGARHOUSE: As you enter the sugarhouse, to the left is the smokestack
ascending from the end of the arch. The arch is 12′ by 4′, so walk the 12 feet to the other end of the arch
and you are at the firebox. Turn to your left and walk 2 feet: the thick black firebox door will be on your
left, a pile of wood for stoking the arch will be on your right. Behind the wood are doors to the
woodshed. All of this you will notice readily. The sugarhouse is built into the bank, so the wall facing you is
cement up to about 6 feet, and above that are a row of high windows.
In the dark corner behind the wood are the medieval tools, black and silent. There is the heavy black iron
rake used for scraping the ashes off the grates; it is a right-angled piece of iron with an 8-foot pole. There is
the heavy black flue brush, much longer and with a doughnut-shaped brush at the end. There is a crowbar
and a black square shovel.
To clean the ashes, you will want to put on the sooty Johnson wool jacket, the sooty wool hat to
match, ratty old gloves and a face mask. Grab a flashlight and drag the ashes bucket around to the firebox.
Reach for the long heavy rake in the corner, then open the bulky door to the firebox. It will creak and
groan. Drag the rake across the thick grates, slowly, rhythmically, clankily, feeling your way, scraping across
centuries of fireboxes and ashes.
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April 9: Death with Dignity
Nebraska Knoll’s Chief of Operations reports:
On April 8th our sugar season officially ended.
This may be a typical ending date, but typical
would not be a fitting description for this sugar
season. We fired up the evaporator on February
23 which in our 33-year history is the earliest first
boil. After a miserable, snow-stingy winter we
were blessed with a three foot dump of snow on
February 24th and 25th. The backcountry skiing
was finally exciting again after a long drought. We
finally had a respectable snow pack to help ensure
a prolonged sugar season, or so we thought.
Though the weather pattern in early March was
less than ideal, we had made over 1500 gallons of
mostly Fancy syrup by March 15, and I was
enthused to be off to a good start. This
enthusiasm was damped by an alarming weather
forecast for the coming week, which called for
record high temperatures every day. I know of
nothing that will shut off a sugar season as quickly
and completely as successive days in the seventies.
It was tempting to shrug this off as computermodeling with a loose wire.
Unfortunately, the computers were wired
correctly. As the heat wave progressed, the sap
flows diminished in intensity and the sap began to ferment creating obnoxious whiffs everywhere. The
snow stake on Mt. Mansfield lost four feet of snow that week, and the woods became completely bare
with only the denser man-made snow left on the ski trails. Falls Brook and its tributaries turned into twisted
white ribbons of gushing water. Amazingly there was no flooding as the days were so sunny and dry. The
Spring Beauties and leeks were sprouting everywhere – had I ever collected leeks in March? My mind
drifted from syrup to gardening where the soil was warm and dry and the rhubarb leaves were emerging –
had I ever gardened in March? I gazed in horror at fully developed buds on even our upper elevation trees.
To make matters worse, there was a sinking feeling that in this era of global warming, we might have to
become accustomed to this type of weather. I felt dazed as this tenacious heat was turning my bio-rhythm
totally kittywampus. Sugar season had unquestionably sustained life-threatening blows.
Finally, there was relief including a hard freeze on March 27. The ensuing weather through early April was
classic, near perfect sugaring weather. Sadly, the sap quality was not, as developed buds give the syrup an
off-flavor. I don’t ever remember making so much beautifully light-colored, “buddy” Fancy syrup. Sugar
season continued to limp along in its traumatized condition. The arteries of its tubing system were being
kept alive by a heart-lung machine called a vacuum pump. It was in agony on its final days and was painful
to watch. On April 8th I mercifully turned off the pump. I believe sugar seasons, like people, deserve a
death with dignity.
Lew Coty April 9, 2012
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April 12: Back Into the Woods
[After a spell of technical difficulties the blog is
back.]
Weather this week: Rain, sun, hail. Temps 40
degrees, give or take. We are so grateful for the
rain since in order to rinse tubing we need
water flowing up in the bush. In a typical
spring, as the snow melts it spills off the
mountain through gullies just waiting to be
brooks, like Christmas tree ornaments waiting
for their annual escapade. This year these
cheery Beatrix Potter streams dried up in March
– unprecedented.
Notes on the Season, Day One: We set two
records this year.
Well-developed maple buds in mid-March at the top of Keystone. They
1) The earliest boil ever: February 23rd.
have not advanced too much since then due to a return of seasonal
temperatures.
2) The most spread-out season. The ratio
is: Number of Boiling Days divided by theNumber of Days from the First Boil through the Last
Boil. The closer this ratio is to 1, the more compact the season. This year’s ratio was 14/45 = .31. We only
boiled fourteen days (last year, twenty-four). Remember when we had two weeks off for winter
immediately after the first boil? And remember when we shut down for two weeks when it was too hot
and then too cold?
Cleanup: So much to do suddenly! There will be no peace until all the taps have been knocked out and
the lines rinsed. Jake and Cameron have finished Maresan and most of Center. Tomorrow we’ll have a
crew of four on Morningside.
Archival Journal Entry, April 12, 2007: So much bird buzz. Why is it, when the top of a hardwood tree
is sprinkled with birds perched on branches, that when one bird makes agitating movements the others
aren’t fazed? Humans would be struggling to balance as the tree swayed, but birds are capable of holding
on securely. Ah, they are birds, alas.
Quote of the Day: A: All last week while we still thought the sap might run, I looked up at the hills and
tried to hold back the buds.
H: That is a lot of work.
A: That’s for sure; now I am letting them go.
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April 13: Under the April Sun
Activity! A stellar day in the woods for cleanup,
a long ride in the rear of the Chevy van all the
way to Swanton near the Canadian border for
the cumbersome back pan where it will await
surgery on its leaky flues.
Notes on the Season, Day Two: One way
sugarmakers gauge their maple crop is by how
much syrup they make per tap, not per tree but
per tap, since some trees have more than one
tap. This year we made slightly more than a
quart of syrup per tap, last year it was over half
a gallon.
Did we make a crop? A quart per tap for bucket
operations has long been considered a good
yield, or ‘crop’ for short. A crop for a modern
tubing operation is about double, or a half
gallon of syrup for each tap. So, we made a crop
by the old standards.
Tanka: Under the April Sun
Curly shoots of green,
dappled dog-tooth violet,
petite spring beauties
poking through the crunchy leaves
grew a silent inch today.
The wash station on Keystone 8. In the foreground is a fruit sprayer
adapted for rinsing tubing lines. Lying beside it is the tool for prying the
spouts out of the trees
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April 14: First Spring Mushroom
Small News from the Woods: The first
mushroom of the year graces the forest floor!
Check in tomorrow to read about its personality
and habits.
Cleanup Update: As of today, the crew has
completed these sections: Maresan,
Center,Morningside and Herbie. Tomorrow,
they will head up to Keystone, the most
populous section with 3590 taps. If you refer to
the Sugarbush Map, note that Keystone includes
all of the taps between the dotted green border
at the top and the blue line that is Falls Brook.
Those closely-spaced red lines are the newschool main lines, running vertically rather than
traversing the slope as the red mains within the
solid green borders do. Also note the W’s – the wash stations discussed recently in this blog.
Snow Report: Now that boiling days are behind us, thoughts turn to skiing, in particular for those among
us who are pathetically inept at the task of cleaning tubing (“How long can a body hold her arms above
her head?”). Since the Mountain closed two weeks ago due to scant snow cover there has been ample firm
corn-snow skiing for those eager to hike, and then several days ago two feet of powder fell up there. Right
away, legions of scrubbing bubbles – skiers and boarders – got to the task of laying down tracks. Today was
a sunny warm Saturday and the scene blossomed. Snowboarders were sessioning on rails they set up on
lower Nosedive, guys in shorts disappeared over the brow onto Goat, Midway parking lot was jam-packed
and despite mash-potato skiing – except on Standard which the cats had inadvertently groomed – a
palpable joy prevailed. Yippee!!!
April 15: Scarlet Cups, Day Two
Chief of Operations writes:
Scarlet cups are the red flags of sugarbush cleanup. The
brilliant crimson flashes are periodic attention grabbers
that I find a good antidote to the drudgery of rinsing
tubing. They are the earliest edible mushroom in our
sugarbush often seen pushing up through the snow. They
mostly seem to be shy, usually hiding as best they can in
the brown leaf litter of the forest floor. With the
exception of their flamboyant inner cup they are quite
plain in shape and color. To make matters worse they
lack the gift of a good flavor; they taste rather bland.
Some people are the victim of high expectations even
though they have little to offer other than a god-given
showiness. Such is the fate of the Scarlet Cup.
-LC
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April 16: The New
Weather: A sultry, stifling sort of day; in a word,
oppressively hot and humid for April. It was a day
of withering beneath five gallons on water on your
back as you climbed the uncanopied hills to clean
tubing. It was a day of wilting daffodils.
The spring peepers are in chorus for the second
night, insisting on The New.
To make way for The New, this blog must step
aside.
Tying up Loose Ends:
1) Stubby: I still have no photo of one, so, curious
reader, please enlist your imagination to design a
truly whimsical stubby.
Spring Beauties, one of the Ephemerals, currently in full bloom
2) Witch Hobble blossoms: I too am lamenting the lack of blossoms this year, but I did note three of
them up by Herbie’s Crossing.
3) Fisher cat track in the snow: The neighborhood naturalists concur that the print was most probably
made by a bear.
Notes on The Season: Perusing our records, it appears that exceptional seasons are followed by poor
ones, almost always. The years 1992-93 were this way, and 1985-86. The pitfall is to take credit for the
good years and to be self-critical in the bad years.
Cleanup: The remaining tubing lines – upper Keystone – should be completed tomorrow. Sugarhouse
cleanup will be the usual race against the daffodils; my goal is to
finish before they fade.
Tanka
A chart on the wall
graphs the ups and downs of the
2012 season.
I shall sum it up this way:
To sugar is a privilege.
Blog Credits:
Photography: Chief of Operations
Food Correspondent: Maple-Trout-Lilli
Contributing Writers: Jake, Cameron, Ben, Laurie, Lew.
Supporting Cast: J, G, E, H, T and all the rest
Senior Editor: APC
Tune in next February…….
Maple - Trout Lilies
Sugaring: “C’est la maladie du printemps.”
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